Be Proud of Your Accomplishments, Not Your Affiliations

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussions' started by Randell1234, Jun 11, 2012.

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  1. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    Here is an interesting story -

    America's largest companies and most prestigious universities deserve much respect. But being hired or admitted to these institutions is an opportunity to accomplish things, not the accomplishment itself. Therefore, a prudent strategy favors accumulating real accomplishments — revenues earned, clients transformed, or lives changed — in spite of any affiliations you may have.

    As traditional notions of prestige are fast losing relevancy, we should all focus more on creating real value. If you're lucky enough to have attended a great college or worked for a top company, you have an obligation to turn these affiliations into accomplishments. If you're not one of the privileged few, you're no longer at a disadvantage. Stand tall, because it's mastering the process of consistently delivering results that will truly distinguish you in the end.




    Be Proud of Your Accomplishments, Not Your Affiliations - Daniel Gulati - Harvard Business Review
     
  2. edowave

    edowave Active Member

    Love the blog post. Best thing I read in a while.
     
  3. 03310151

    03310151 Active Member

    Would we have read this blog if it was not affiliated with Harvard Business Review?

    Nope.

    Once you accomplish great things, even if you are not affiliated somewhere prestigous...you generally move up to a more prestigous place. Man....I wish I could write better and get my thoughts on to paper. There is too much of this gobbley-gak fluffy mumbo jumbo going around and not enough serious in your face writing with uncomfortable truths. Pie in the sky.

    Bleah.
     
  4. StefanM

    StefanM New Member

    Affiliations matter, though.

    Good luck getting that promotion for your "accomplishments" when you lack the pedigree.

    Also, look at where recent graduates of prestigious firms go for their first jobs. Harvard and Yale grads get jobs for which Random State U grads probably couldn't even get a phone screen.

    It's a LOT easier to make it to the top when you start a few rungs up. Hard work is still absolutely necessary, but attending a prestigious school and/or having important connections does make a difference.
     
  5. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    I actually found it on Linkedin so - yes
     
  6. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    I did - I started as a field service engineer and now I am a national director over field service and the help desk. Moving into management, I was responsible for 8 employees, then 15, and at one point I managed 50 field employees responsible for ~$170 million a year in revenue. Now I manager just over 125 employees and multiple product lines. I increased my salary several times in the past 10 years. This is with a multi-billion dollar medical company that has no shortage of pedigree degrees (Penn State, University of PA, NYU, Princeton, Temple, etc.) walking the halls.

    I think it is different for new grads but for people with experience it is the man that matters, not the paper. Read "The Critical 14 Years Of Your Professional Life". It is a great book where it states that in the first 14 years of your career you are allowed to make mistakes because you are still "learning" but after that you are expected to know our stuff. I think that is why the mid-30's is the point that seperates the men from the boys. Those that get it move on - and those that don't fall to the way-side.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 12, 2012
  7. ITJD

    ITJD Active Member

    I think I need to be working for you ;)
     
  8. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    Would love to have you on board!
     
  9. ryoder

    ryoder New Member

    You rock Randell!
    I agree. Accomplishments are now considered irrelevant or even shameful. Look at what happens when you make it in this country. Then you are called the 1 percent, as if accomplishing something makes you an outsider.
    I felt this way since day one. People asked why I was satisfied with USF and didn't set my sights higher, but I knew that I would be judged on my own accomplishments and skills, not the pedigree of people around me.
     
  10. StefanM

    StefanM New Member

    This is my point. It's a totally different world for new graduates. In this economy, it is extraordinarily difficult for a new graduate obtain a job at all, much less one in his or her field or for which he or she has solid advancement opportunity. This is where pedigree matters--getting that initial opportunity in a very difficult environment.
     
  11. ryoder

    ryoder New Member

    I agree and disagree StefanM. Pedigree might help, but I think practical experience is king. My company has positions available and we don't give 2 craps about pedigree. If someone wants to sit in the chair and write code, we need to be reasonably sure they can do the job. A college degree is a poor minimum qualification, in my experience. I'd rather see a person who can answer interview questions than someone with a degree. Most kids with a degree only, who did no internship or who have no work experience, cannot answer our interview questions. So we pass because we don't know if they could sit in the chair and be productive within a couple of weeks. We don't have years to build a programmer when we can easily get a bunch of them offshore for much less.
     
  12. edowave

    edowave Active Member

    There is a great line by Meryl Streep in the movie "The Iron Lady" that relates to what the HBR blogger talks about. A young lady is telling her (Margaret Thatcher) how much of a role model she has been, and how she wants to be like her, and Ms. Thatcher replies: ‘It used to be about trying to do something; now it’s about trying to be someone.’

    Of course, Margaret Thatcher, had a degree from Oxford, so I'm sure that helped. :)
     
  13. edwardlynch

    edwardlynch New Member

    I like this post, very interesting. I am glad I read this.
     
  14. rmm0484

    rmm0484 Member

    Lady Thatcher also started from relatively nothing and worked her way up. She was not born with a silver spoon in her mouth.
     
  15. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    Lady Thatcher? Wouldn't the title Lady mean that her father was a nobleman?
     
  16. LearningAddict

    LearningAddict Well-Known Member

    I've learned that often times it's not about the truth or the breakthrough alone, but the person who presents it and their credentials.
     
  17. rmm0484

    rmm0484 Member

    No. The Queen can create life peers (the title is good for the life of the honoree), or she can create hereditary peers under letters patent. See Hereditary peer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    Margaret Thatcher is actually now known as "the Rt Hon. The Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC."

    Wikipedia says: "She was appointed a Member of the Order of Merit (OM) (an order within the personal gift of the Queen) within two weeks of leaving office. Denis Thatcher was made a Baronet at the same time. She became a peer in the House of Lords in 1992 with a life peerage as Baroness Thatcher, of Kesteven in the County of Lincolnshire. She was appointed a Lady Companion of the Order of the Garter, the UK's highest order of chivalry, in 1995."
     
  18. rmm0484

    rmm0484 Member

  19. StefanM

    StefanM New Member

    While she was clearly a commoner, I would argue that she didn't start from "relatively nothing" (although I admit the relativity of the term). Her father owned two grocery stores and served on his town's council.

    That's not exactly starting from scratch. She didn't come from great wealth, but she didn't come from an impoverished home, either.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 13, 2012
  20. rmm0484

    rmm0484 Member

    Very, true, but being a grocer's daughter is no great advantage in the UK - they are more class conscious than we are (or were).
     

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